Thái độ của sinh viên trong việc sử dụng máy tính hỗ trợ cho việc học tiếng Anh

Tư liệu tham khảo Số 65 năm 2014<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ OPINIONS<br /> ON COMPUTER USE IN ENGLISH LEARNING<br /> <br /> NGUYEN VU THANH TUYEN*, DO ANH THU*<br /> <br /> <br /> ABSTRACT<br /> This article focused on students’ opinions on computer use in English learning (EL).<br /> We hope that this survey could wake the awareness of the students who have not<br /> recognized computer importance, step-by-step raising their interest in computer<br /> application in their EL and at the same time, encouraging the students who have mastered<br /> computer roles to deploy them more effectively.<br /> Keywords: computer, computer use, English learning (EL).<br /> TÓM TẮT<br /> Thái độ của sinh viên trong việc sử dụng máy tính hỗ trợ cho việc học tiếng Anh<br /> Bài viết này tập trung vào việc đánh giá thái độ của sinh viên về việc sử dụng máy<br /> tính trong việc học tiếng Anh, qua đó giúp sinh viên nhận thức được tầm quan trọng của<br /> việc học tiếng Anh với sự hỗ trợ của máy tính, đồng thời giúp cho những sinh viên đã nắm<br /> vững vai trò của máy tính có thể triển khai ứng dụng này một cách hiệu quả hơn.<br /> Từ khóa: máy tính, việc sử dụng máy tính, học tiếng Anh.<br /> <br /> 1. Introduction<br /> Since a high-school student, we have been interested in the benefits computers<br /> bring to EL, such as saving much time in looking up vocabulary and finding<br /> information, providing a variety of exercises with immediate feedback, as well as<br /> interesting games to help to improve English and so on. Now, when we are lecturers of<br /> English at FTU, with high awareness of those benefits, we also expect all our students<br /> to apply ICT (Information and communication technology) to their learning. This<br /> encouraged us to conduct this survey in the hope of gaining an understanding of<br /> students’ views on computer use in EL, which will serve as a foundation for our<br /> solutions to enable the students who have not been aware of computer roles to<br /> understand their benefits and apply them.<br /> Many linguists emphasize the importance of computers in language learning [1,<br /> p.145; 2, p.486; 3, p.108; 4, p.145; 5, p.364; 6, p.55]. According to them, computers<br /> provide a useful means of finding information and generate learning motivation.<br /> Actually, with “multimedia features, combining sounds, images, text, and their ability<br /> <br /> *<br /> MA, Foreign Trade University – Ho Chi Minh City Campus<br /> <br /> 188<br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC ĐHSP TPHCM Nguyen Vu Thanh Tuyen et al.<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> to allow interaction between the medium and the learner” [7, p.405], computers are<br /> likely to attract learners in EL. In addition, they can give a helpful assistance in<br /> autonomous learning, that is, ‘the ability to take charge of one’s own learning’ [7,<br /> p.405]. And interestingly, with a computer, “learner can learn individually at her or his<br /> own pace” [6,p.55]. We strongly advocate those advantages as we ourselves recognized<br /> them during our self-learning using computers. It is thanks to those benefits, computer-<br /> assisted EL is becoming more and more popular in Vietnam. That inspired us to<br /> conduct this research into our students’ views on computer use in English learning.<br /> Therefore, this paper will focus on our students’ opinions on computer use in EL. Now<br /> that English is the most popular foreign language in Vietnam, we will use, in this<br /> paper, a specific term, that is, English learning, not the general one foreign language<br /> learning.<br /> In the following part of this paper, we will present, in the first step, the theoretical<br /> background, what linguists think of computer use in foreign language learning in<br /> general. Next, in the second step, we will describe the methodology for the survey. The<br /> findings of this survey, in which we will present the student groups with different<br /> salient views will be the third step, followed by our discussion on those results, and<br /> lastly, the paper will end with our conclusion from these survey findings.<br /> 2. Theoretical background<br /> Computers help individuals, communities, societies, and nations store oceans of<br /> knowledge and materials. Hence, they are a vital supportive source in people’s lives. In<br /> this paper, the indispensible roles of computers will be explained in detail related to<br /> student’s learning. Since computers enable students to collect a variety of sources for<br /> their studies, including sample problems, lecture notes, glossaries, assignments, test<br /> results, and graphics, they are installed to be seen as the most important tool to improve<br /> student learning [8]. Enhanced learning that could be achieved when computers play an<br /> important role in delivering content and creating learning opportunities to help students<br /> make meaning and develop an understanding of English [8]. What is more, computers<br /> also serve as a tool or a support for communicating with others in English, which<br /> means they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information<br /> transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. Students are actively making choices<br /> about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information in their English<br /> learning.<br /> With computer software and the Internet, students are able to get information<br /> from around the world in a few minutes. There are so many resources right in front of<br /> us when we are in front of a computer. The illustrations of these are word processing<br /> tools, which allow you to write a paper and fix mistakes later rather than rewriting the<br /> whole thing; or Power Point programs that let you make easy and clarified<br /> <br /> <br /> 189<br /> Tư liệu tham khảo Số 65 năm 2014<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> presentations [8]. According to James, computer also help students “experience new<br /> and challenging things, and to connect students with new and different people, places,<br /> and things” [9]. This will put a basis on students’ access to new programs all round the<br /> world for their broader and higher education. All in all, it cannot be denied numerous<br /> benefits that computers bring about to students’ learning.<br /> 3. Methodology<br /> a. Context<br /> With the acceptance of the Training Board of our university, on Monday<br /> afternoon after two first weeks of a new school year, the survey was carried out at the<br /> commencement of the class when students were fresh. Therefore they gave the correct<br /> information to themselves with careful thinking and passionate enthusiasm. As for the<br /> strategy for survey sample, we chose “simple random” [10, p.142], in which a class of<br /> 40 third year students with the upper-intermediate English level of International<br /> Business Relations department at FTU was chosen. These students had more or less<br /> experience in the computer use in EL, as they had already spent two academic years in<br /> which they had to give English presentations during each term, the information of<br /> which was gathered from softwares or Internet, using computers as a tool for their<br /> performance. The total number of participants for the survey was 32, including 03<br /> males and 29 females, and 8 students left were absent or late.<br /> b. Data collection, management and analysis<br /> The instrument was questionnaires (40 copies), actually with 32 distributed. The<br /> questionnaire was constructed with a systematic structure, including the questions that<br /> gave a first basic insight into students’ opinions on computer use in EL and questions<br /> that asserted the consistency and the logic of students’ answers. Furthermore, there was<br /> a close relationship between the questions in each part (for example, the time for B.2 1<br /> and B.6 could never be more than that for B.1. In case it was, the answers would be<br /> considered illogical.) and an integral part to decide the rightness of students’ responses.<br /> There were questions especially designed to gain a further understanding of what<br /> students actually thought about the computer use in EL (Appendix 1). Before students<br /> began giving the answers, we had emphasized the purpose of the survey and what the<br /> survey concerns was the computer use in English learning, avoiding the case students<br /> thought of the computer use in general purposes. The participants were expected to<br /> circle the options that were true to them. To questions requesting additional<br /> information, students were to accurately reflect what they wanted to say, which Nunan<br /> [10, p.143] clearly asserts the advantage of open questions of such kind in a<br /> questionnaire.<br /> The response data was then entered into Excel worksheets. Then came the next<br /> stages, including database statistics, database relationship setting, comparison and<br /> <br /> 190<br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC ĐHSP TPHCM Nguyen Vu Thanh Tuyen et al.<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> categorization of student groups with different salient opinions (see Appendix 2).<br /> Lastly, a relationship between different parts was established in order to draw out some<br /> tendencies among the groups.<br /> 4. Results<br /> With the initial purpose of the survey, based on the database (see Appendix 2),<br /> we categorized the students’ opinions into two groups:<br /> <br /> <br /> Group A B<br /> Opinion<br /> Support computer use in EL 28/32 participants<br /> <br /> No support for computer use in EL 4/32 participants<br /> <br /> (see C.1 in Appendix 2). Actually, on closer examination regarding the answers<br /> to the questions B.2, B.3, B.4, B.5, B.6, B.7 and C.4, we could confidently (too much)<br /> assert the appropriateness of that classification. Most of the options expressing the<br /> regular use of and positive attitude towards computers in EL were circled by group A<br /> while those of the lower levels were chosen by group B. Take a critical look at the<br /> following examples:<br /> * About software use time<br /> B.2: software use time (hours/week)<br /> B.2.a B.2.b B.2.c B.2.d<br /> (less than 2) (2-4) (4-6) (more than 6)<br /> Group A 57% 18% 25% 0%<br /> Group B 100% 0% 0% 0%<br /> * About Internet use time<br /> B.6: Internet use time (hours/week)<br /> B.6.a B.6.b B.6.c B.6.d<br /> (less than 2) (2-4) (4-6) (more than 6)<br /> Group A 36% 21% 36% 7%<br /> Group B 50% 50% 0% 0%<br /> * About the necessity of computers in EL<br /> C.4: without computers in EL<br /> C.4.a C.4.b<br /> (more difficult) (normal)<br /> Group A 89% 11%<br /> Group B 0% 100%<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 191<br /> Tư liệu tham khảo Số 65 năm 2014<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> One identical and outstanding characteristic between the two groups was that the<br /> students of the two groups all concentrated in the three purposes such as looking up<br /> vocabulary, finding information, and preparing for next lessons. However, while group<br /> A achieved every purpose listed on the questionnaire, group B just accomplished some<br /> of them (see B.8 in Appendix 2).<br /> * About the purposes students achieved using computers<br /> <br /> B.8: purposes students achieved using computers<br /> Group A Group B<br /> B.8.a (look up new words) 89% 100%<br /> B.8.b (do grammar exercises) 11% 0%<br /> B.8.c (practise listening) 71% 75%<br /> B.8.d (practise speaking) 11% 25%<br /> B.8.e (practise reading) 50% 50%<br /> B.8.f (practise writing) 21% 0%<br /> B.8.g (prepare for next lessons) 36% 25%<br /> B.8.h (prepare for presentation) 86% 100%<br /> B.8.i (voice chat to foreigners on the Internet) 11% 0%<br /> B.8.j (find information) 89% 100%<br /> Notice: Each item was calculated as follows:<br /> Group A: the number of participants choosing that item / 28<br /> Group B: the number of participants choosing that item / 4<br /> In general, the results indicated the two contradicting opinions on the computer<br /> use in EL. However, both groups did use computers in their EL, even the group that did<br /> not support it.<br /> 5. Discussion<br /> These findings correspond with Beauvois’s (1998) and Jaeglin’s (1998)<br /> conclusions in their reports, that is, ‘students […], with a few exceptions, are highly<br /> motivated when using computers’ [3, p.109]. They also prove linguists’ assertion that<br /> computers are of high importance, providing useful means of gaining information [1,<br /> p.145; 2, p.486; 3, p.108; 4, p.145; 5, p.364; Ruschoff, 1997 and Gewehr, 1998, quoted<br /> in 6, p.55].<br /> Additionally, the survey results confirm that students use computers in an<br /> orientation of autonomous learning and improving their knowledge by surfing the<br /> Internet. This is to say that in the future, when not at university, students are able to<br /> <br /> 192<br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC ĐHSP TPHCM Nguyen Vu Thanh Tuyen et al.<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> autonomously study without going to class by using computers. That is a joyful signal<br /> in the student learning autonomy.<br /> However, the survey results also disclosed some limitations. As mentioned above,<br /> there were students who used computers in EL, but did not support it. This, according<br /> to them, was caused by the following reasons. The first was the high cost in accessing<br /> the Internet, and health effect, especially eye tiredness, which we ourselves used to feel<br /> the same. In our view, there should be support from the university in this aspect. That<br /> means the number of computers at the library or the language laboratory should be<br /> increased so that more students can access the Internet. Moreover, a long-term<br /> expectation is that second-hand CRT screens will be replaced by LCD, which decreases<br /> eye soreness effectively. Second, some students reflected that they could not use<br /> computers satisfactorily, not to mention proficiently. What they could do with<br /> computers just derived from their imitation. So, it is a must, we think, that there should<br /> be computer training classes to help students to be more confident in exploiting them to<br /> the full. Last, students complained that there was richness in the information on the<br /> Internet, and it was because of this that they lost their directions in choosing the<br /> suitable addresses. We opine that this is a good reason for the fact that teachers should<br /> be always necessary in students’ learning. This is proved by many linguists. To<br /> Hanson-Smith, “[t]he more widely the internet access expands, the more important the<br /> teachers’ role of guiding students to the suitable resources becomes” [3, p.112]. As for<br /> Jones, he emphasizes the inevitable role of the teachers even though under the immense<br /> resources of information relied on computers [3, p.361]. And to Celce-Murcia,<br /> “[c]omputer gives assistance to learning and teaching. In all means, it cannot replace<br /> the teacher” [2, p.486].<br /> 6. Conclusion<br /> In conclusion, it is not redundant to emphasize again the survey purpose, that is,<br /> students’ opinions on computer use in English learning. The results showed that 28 out<br /> of the 32 participants were highly aware of the necessity of computers to their English<br /> learning, and 4 were vaguely aware of it. There were, by no means, rational reasons for<br /> their thinking. Despite the unresolved limitations, the survey reached its initial success<br /> because a group of students surrounded us and asked for the addresses of the good web<br /> pages as well as some reliable softwares to learn English. This, hopefully, woke<br /> students’ awareness on the computer use in EL and created a tendency of using<br /> learning-assisted tools, especially computers for the purpose of the autonomous<br /> learning orientation.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 193<br /> Tư liệu tham khảo Số 65 năm 2014<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 1<br /> C.1, B.1, B.2, B.3, ….: C.1 means question 1 in part C; B.1 means question 1 in part B in the questionnaire<br /> and so on. Similarly, B.1.a means option a in question 1 in part B and the list goes on.<br /> <br /> <br /> REFERENCES<br /> 1. Brown, H. Douglas (2001), Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to<br /> Language Pedagogy, (2nd ed), Longman: New York.<br /> 2. Celce-Murcia, M. (2001), Teaching English as a second or foreign language, (3rd<br /> ed), Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.<br /> 3. Hanson-Smith, E. (2001), Computer-assisted Language Learning. In R. Carter & D.<br /> Nunan (Eds.), The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other<br /> Languages (pp. 107-113), Cambridge: CUP.<br /> 4. Harmer, J. (2001), The Practice of English Language Teaching, (3rd ed), Harlow:<br /> Longman.<br /> 5. Jones, J. (2001), “CALL and the Responsibilities of Teachers and Administrators”,<br /> ELT Journal, 55 (4), 360-367.<br /> 6. Stracke, E. (2004), “Voices from the Classroom: Teaching in a Computer-assisted<br /> Foreign Language Learning Environment”, New Zealand Studies in Applied<br /> Linguistics, 10 (1), 51-70.<br /> 7. Stracke, E. (2005), “Conflicting Voices: Blended Learning in a German University<br /> Foreign Language Classroom”. In M. Ó Dúill, R. Zahn, & K. D.C Höppner (Eds.),<br /> Zusammenarbeiten: Eine Festschrift für Bernd Voss (Working together: A Festschrift<br /> for Bernd Voss) [Fremdsprachen in Lehre und Forschung 37] (pp. 403-420).<br /> Bochum: AKS-Verlag. Also published in L. Miller (Ed.) (2007), Learner Autonomy<br /> 9: Autonomy in the classroom [Authentik, series Ed. D. Little] (pp. 85-103). Trinity<br /> College, Dublin: Authentik.<br /> 8. Hakaa, T. (2006), What Technology Plays Supporting Role in Learning Cycle<br /> Approach for Science Education. In The Turkish Online Journal of Educational<br /> Technology - TOJET, 5 (2), p. 71-78.<br /> 9. James, M. M. (2002), “Evidence that technology can, and does, support Learning”,<br /> Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/files/2013/02/Expanding-<br /> Evidence-Approaches.pdf on December 28th, 2013.<br /> 10. Nunan, D. (1992), Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge: CUP.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 194<br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC ĐHSP TPHCM Nguyen Vu Thanh Tuyen et al.<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> APPENDIX 1<br /> SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE<br /> Would you please give the accurate information in order to help us collect data with<br /> the aim of offering solutions for improving English learning with the computer-assistance.<br /> Thank you for your thoughts and your help!<br /> A. SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION:<br /> Circle a letter a, b, c that is true to you:<br /> 1. Sex: a. male b. female<br /> 2. Have a personal computer: a. yes b. no<br /> 3. Computer use ability: a. proficient b. satisfactory c.<br /> incompetent<br /> Other opinions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> .<br /> B. THE COMPUTER USE IN ENGLISH LEARNING:<br /> Circle a letter a, b, c, d that is true to you:<br /> 1. How long per week do you spend learning English autonomously (with and/or<br /> without computer use)?<br /> a. less than 3 hours c. 6 – 9 hours<br /> b. 3 – 6 hours d. more than 9 hours<br /> 2. How long per week do you spend using softwares to learn English?<br /> a. less than 2 hours c. 4 – 6 hours<br /> b. 2 – 4 hours d. more than 6 hours<br /> 3. How many coursebook/material disks (CD/VCD/DVD) are you using to learn<br /> English?<br /> a. less than 2 c. 4 – 6<br /> b. 2 – 4 d. more than 6<br /> 4. How many Vietnamese softwares are you using to learn English (English study,<br /> Lac Viet mtd, …)?<br /> a. less than 2 c. 4 – 6<br /> b. 2 – 4 d. more than 6<br /> 5. How many foreign softwares are you using to learn English (Oxford, Encarta,<br /> LANGMaster…)?<br /> a. less than 2 c. 4 – 6<br /> b. 2 – 4 d. more than 6<br /> 6. How long per week do you spend using Internet to learn English?<br /> a. less than 2 hours c. 4 – 6 hours<br /> b. 2 – 4 hours d. more than 6 hours<br /> <br /> 195<br /> Tư liệu tham khảo Số 65 năm 2014<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 7. How many web pages do you often access to learn English?<br /> a. less than 2 c. 4 – 6<br /> b. 2 – 4 d. more than 6<br /> Circle the letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j that are true to you:<br /> 8. What among the following purposes do you develop in English learning using<br /> computers (softwares/Internet)?<br /> a. look up new words f. practise writing<br /> b. do grammar exercises g. prepare for next lessons<br /> c. practise listening h. prepare for presentation<br /> d. practise speaking i. voice chat to foreigners on the Internet<br /> e. practice reading j. find information<br /> Other opinions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> .......................................................................<br /> C. YOUR OPINIONS ON COMPUTER USE IN ENGLISH LEARNING<br /> Circle a letter a, b that is true to you:<br /> 1. Do you prefer using computers to learn English to not using them?<br /> a. yes<br /> b. no<br /> Circle the letters a, b, c, d that is true to you:<br /> 2. What difficulties do you have in English learning using softwares?<br /> a. be costly c. be unbelievable<br /> b. not meet all your needs d. not be able to exploit<br /> Other opinions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> .......................................................................<br /> 3. What difficulties do you have in English learning using Internet?<br /> a. be costly c. not have the addresses<br /> b. not have Internet access d. not be able to exploit<br /> Other opinions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> .......................................................................<br /> 4. What would you feel if you did not have any softwares or Internet to use for<br /> English learning?<br /> a. more difficult than when I have them<br /> b. normal, my learning would be as good and easy as that when I have them<br /> Other opinions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> .......................................................................<br /> Circle the letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g that are true to you:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 196<br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC ĐHSP TPHCM Nguyen Vu Thanh Tuyen et al.<br /> _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 5. When using a computer, which of the following items can you develop better than<br /> that when not using it?<br /> a. vocabulary<br /> Explain your choice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> b. grammar<br /> Explain your choice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> c. pronunciation<br /> Explain your choice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> d. listening<br /> Explain your choice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> e. speaking<br /> Explain your choice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> f. reading<br /> Explain your choice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> g. writing<br /> Explain your choice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> 6. What are your general comments on computer use in English learning?<br /> Good points: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> .......................................................................<br /> Bad points: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br /> ........................................................................<br /> The end<br /> <br /> (Received: 29/11/2013; Revised: 10/12/2013; Accepted: 18/9/2014)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 197<br />